Jeremiah 21-36 A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by (Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)

Speaking of Kings (21:1-23:8) 171

prose oracles preceding and the prose oracle following. The oracle is marked

additionally at the top by a setumah in MA and ML before v 5. The MP has no

section there. At the bottom is a petubah in MA and a setumah in ML and MP

after v 6.

Some scholars (Duhm; Volz; Mowinckel 1956: 20 [a reverse from 1914:

20]; McKane) deny this oracle to Jeremiah, but most (Giesebrecht; Peake;

Cornill; Gressmann 1929: 252; Rudolph; Weiser; Hyatt; Holladay) take it to

be a genuine utterance of the prophet. The hesitation has largely to do with

views about the oracle being messianic and whether or not Jeremiah is likely

to have held messianic views or been concerned at all to affirm the survival of

a Davidic line. That Jeremiah would have subscribed to the Davidic covenant

as presented in 2 Samuel 7 is reasonable. He seems simply to have been un-

willing to extend this eternal and unconditional covenant to include Zion

and the Temple (see Note for 7:4). Other passages in the book contain ideas

similar to those presented here (30:8-9; 33:14-16). Jeremiah spent his entire

public ministry in Jerusalem, and there is evidence aplenty that his preach-

ing appropriated tenets of Southern theology, rooted in the traditions associ-

ated with Abraham and David (see §Introduction: Sources for the Prophet's

Theology).

The oracle is structured by the following key words, some of which have

been noted by Volz:

....... days ................

................ righteous .....

........... and righteousness .....

II In his days .......................

............... our righteousness

yamfm

$addfq

beyamayw

$idqenu

v5

v6

Catchwords connecting to the oracles preceding (Fishbane 1985: 472; Parke-
Taylor 2000: 56):

v 5 when I will raise up v 4 And I will raise up

Catchwords connecting to oracle following:

v 5 Look, days are coming v 7 Look ... days are coming

NOTES

23:5. Look, days are coming. The phrase is not eschatological (Weiser), i.e., it
does not look ahead to the end of world history, at which time God will reward
the righteous and punish the wicked. It simply points ahead, as do the other